KAEL*
I moved through shadows like a ghost.
The halls of the Incubi Court had grown colder since my return. Old allies avoided my eyes; new faces weighed me with suspicion. But there were still a few I trusted or could at least manipulate. I had no intention of letting Veyros hold all the strings.
Not this time.
I began recruiting in silence. Demons with honor, those who hadn't sold their conscience for coin or comfort. They were rare now... nearly relics. But they still existed... quiet warriors, forgotten bloodlines, even a few elders who remembered what our kind once stood for.
They didn't ask questions. They saw the storm coming.
And still, between secret meetings and tense council summons, my thoughts returned to her. To Talia.
She was the burning thread unraveling everything. And I couldn't stay away.
---
I found her behind the Light Chasers' compound, in a small clearing bordered by runes that shimmered faintly in the dusk. She was practicing alone... bare-handed, muscles tense, hair braided back, sweat glistening on her skin.
Her power radiated off her like heat from a forge.
"I told you I didn't need a babysitter," she said without turning.
"I'm not here to babysit," I replied, stepping into the ring. "I'm here to make sure you don't incinerate your brother by accident."
She turned, eyes narrowed. "I'm not a child."
"I know."
Gods, did I know.
---
The first few sessions were rough. She hated taking orders. Hated my smug corrections. Hated that I could see her when she didn't want to be seen.
But she listened. Eventually.
I taught her how to anchor herself, how to pull her energy back in when her emotions tried to spill it everywhere. When the Void stirred, it reacted to emotion, to chaos. She had to learn control before the wrong hands sensed her awakening.
But control was hard when she looked at me like that.
Sometimes she'd glance away too quickly. Sometimes she'd touch my arm and snatch her hand back like it burned.
One afternoon, her energy flared so violently she knocked me back ten feet.
I stood, brushing ash from my shoulders. "You're not supposed to think about killing me when we train."
She was panting, cheeks flushed, eyes glowing faintly.
"I'm not thinking about killing you."
I paused. "Then what... "
"Nothing!" she snapped, turning her back.
But I could feel it.
The pull between us was raw, electric, buried under grief and distrust but growing.
Her proximity sparked memories I'd buried. Flashes of another face. Another voice. Tanya's… and not.
---
A few nights later, I passed through the edge of the compound and ran right into Cara and Caleb.
Talia's twin siblings.
Cara eyed me warily. "Didn't expect you to stick around."
"I'm persistent," I said evenly.
Caleb didn't speak. He crossed his arms, his stance rigid.
"I hope you know we're watching her," Cara said. "And you."
"I expect nothing less."
Caleb finally spoke, voice cold as steel. "You touch her, you die."
I gave him a slow, measured look. "I'd die for her. But I wouldn't hurt her."
He didn't reply. But the fury in his eyes said enough.
---
Talia and I trained again the next day. She was quieter. Focused.
At one point, I stepped too close. Her breath hitched.
"Talia."
She looked up, eyes wide. And for a moment, the air between us shifted...
Electric.
Magnetic.
She stepped back. "We should keep going."
"Yeah" I said. Though part of me ached not to.
She still didn't know how deep the prophecy ran. She still didn't know how many were watching.
But she would. Soon.
And when she did, I'd be ready to stand beside her... or fall defending her.
Whichever fate the Void chose first.